1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved kit for an ostomate, i.e., a person who has undergone the medical procedure of inserting a stoma within his or her abdomen, to shunt the direction of excrement for direct discharge through the stoma bag appliance. One who has undergone an ileostom or colostoma operation is required to cleanse the interior of his appliance whenever it becomes partly filled with excrement, normally several times a day. The present invention is directed to the kit in combination with a drainable stoma bag appliance of the type which includes an orifice for sealing connection to the stoma of the ostomate, and particularly a seal which is developed by a Karaya ring. There exists a need for a flushing device which will allow the ostomate to cleanse the interior of his appliance without subjecting the Karaya ring to direct water pressure, which could break the seal of the appliance against the abdomen of the ostomate.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The following prior U.S. Pat. Nos. are known to applicant, and considered pertinent to the examination of this application:
Harris--466,680 PA1 Hooker--1,272,263 PA1 Forth--1,687,012 PA1 Koch--2,223,566 PA1 Saur--2,438,073 PA1 Deahl--2,540,777 PA1 Yohe--2,869,547 PA1 Packard--3,042,312
The present invention constitutes significant improvement over any of the teachings of these prior art patents in that none of these patents are in recognition of the peculiar problems presented to an ostomate, and the combination of structure which is presented as a solution herein. The present invention allows selective control over a flushing operation, through one-hand manipulation of a directional water flushing appliance. The present invention requires no separate inlets or outlets to be applied to an ostomy bag, rather with the present kit the ostomate employs a drainable conventional stoma bag appliance and is able to easily manipulate the water flushing appliance to the available bottom end of the stoma bag.
Saur, U.S. Pat. No. 2,438,073, illustrates a colostomy bag having a flushing distributor that includes a header with a plurality of holes permanently mounted within the bag, as shown most clearly in FIG. 3. His distributor employs an external pipe connection, and it is manifestly clear that Saur's device is inapplicable to a drainable stoma bag appliance of the type simply consisting of a flexible vertically elongated member, in major contrast to the approach taken in the present invention.
Deahl, U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,777, shows a colostomy appliance having another form of integral and separate flushing connection, through a fixture on the bag itself. As Deahl illustrates in FIG. 2, the hose is connected to an integral fitting, which is itself attached rigidly to the bag construction. Deahl's device is also not concerned with allowing a complete manipulation of the directional water spray onto all surfaces of the bag interior, since he is primarily concerned with an irrigation function of the stoma.
Yohe, U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,547, illustrates a colostomy irrigating structure, and one which also requires separate orifices in the stoma bag itself. For flushing purposes, the Yohe device requires a separate inlet on the upper surface, for the insertion of a water bulb, all as shown in FIG. 2.
Koch, U.S. Pat. No. 2,223,566, illustrates another colostomy irrigating device, one which requires structural interconnections of water supplies into various portions of the bag itself. The colostomy bag of Koch is again a special adaptation of structure, in complete distinction to the concept taught herein which allows the use of a conventional stoma bag appliance.
Packard, U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,312, illustrates a known form of spraying device, which is hand-operated with a positive shutoff valve member. As such, Packard illustrates that such a type of valve member is, of course, well known.
Forth, U.S. Pat. No. 1,687,012, as well as Harris, U.S. Pat. No. 466,680, illustrate bottle washing devices, wherein a U-shaped pipe is inserted into the downwardly open end of a vessel, such as a milk bottle, and fixedly mounted therein to apply a spray to the interior of the vessel. Of course, none of these patents are analogous to the particular combination presented herein, and furthermore neither of these teachings are in recognition of the peculiar problems involved in the flushing of a drainable stoma bag appliance. Furthermore, neither of these structural solutions are manipulatable for a selected directional flushing of the interior of the vessel.
Finally, Hooker, U.S. Pat. No. 1,272,263, illustrates a plurality of orifices located at the distal end of a U-shaped conduit. Hooker's teaching is specific to a gas burner, which is completely non-analogous to the present teaching which allows an ostomate to efficiently perform a necessary daily maintenance.